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"Some [wo]men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not."


 Robert Kennedy

  

 Imagine if you current life situation included the following:

 
·         Your first words are uttered at the age of 4

·         You have less than 4 years of official schooling at the junior level

·         Your teachers think you will amount to nothing

·         You have dyslexia

·         You are rejected 30 times while trying to promote your first piece of work

·         While a kid you are molested by family members

·         You decide to apply to film school but you get rejected not just once but twice
 

When I read the above list I couldn't help but ask myself what could anyone accomplish in their life if they had to deal with all, or even only one of these adversities.  Can you imagine how many job interviews you would get if you had less than four months of junior school training? I am sure you would eventually get an interview but only after being rejected countless of times. Do you have what it takes to overcome the abundance of rejection? In fact, let's imagine you got up one day and felt inspired to write a book. How would you feel if your work, which represented your finest piece of work, was rejected not once, not ten times and not even twenty times? Let us say your work was rejected a total of thirty times; would you feel inspired to continue, rejected or just give up?
 
How would you deal with being molested by not just one or two but by three family members? My guess is that for many of us just making it through such a despicable ordeal would be a great accomplishment.
 
Imagine if you suffered with Dyslexia; how would you even begin to learn to read and/or write? Can you imagine going through the junior high and senior high school time of your life with this reading and/or writing challenge?  We all know how some kids can be when they see another kid who is perceived as different in some way.  Let’s be honest, some of them can be terribly mean spirited.

Let us imagine that ever since you were a kid your teachers told you that you would amount to nothing.  Could you imagine how that would feel?  Now imagine how that would feel if you were a kid? Let’s assume you make it through that ordeal and you go on to apply for college. In fact, let's say you wanted to follow your passion and decided to apply for film school. How would you feel and what would you do if you were to get turned down by film school; and not just once but twice!

You must be wondering or at least saying to yourself that there is no one on earth who has faced all of these challenges and rejections. Well, based on my research you are correct. There is no one that I have come across during my life or during my research that has experienced all of these challenges but here is what I found:
     
  • Albert EinsteinDeveloped the theory of Relativity – he did not speak until he was 4 years old and many of his teachers thought he wouldn’t make anything of himself
  • Thomas EdisonCredited with inventing the practical light bulb – he had no formal education and was hearing impaired
  • Richard BransonDeveloped Virgin Records and is one of the top ten richest persons in the UK – he had Dyslexia and was a bad student (didn’t get good marks)
  • Stephen KingHe has sold over 350 million copies of his books - his first novel was rejected 30 times by publishing houses
  • Oprah Winfrey - She is an entrepreneur who is admired by millions and she has a net worth of approximately $2.9 billion – she was repeatedly molested by three family members
  • Steven Spielberg One of the greatest filmmakers of all time – he was rejected from USC twice; couldn’t get into the film school of his choice

Amazing isn't it? Each one of these individuals could have given up but for some reason they continued. They were determined not to look at their current situation or adversity and use it as a reason to quit. Instead, they pursued their goals with relentless endeavor. Now allow me to ask you a question. First think of a goal or dream you have always dreamed of accomplishing.  Ask yourself what is it that has caused you not to achieve it. Write down the reason, situation or circumstance that has prevented you from achieving this goal or dream. Now, look at the list of adversities I wrote at the very beginning of this blog and ask yourself the following question:

 
Which of the following adversities would you prefer to have to overcome in order to achieve your goal or dream:
 

1)    One of the adversities listed at the beginning of this blog

or

2)    The current adversity that is holding you back from achieving this goal or dream

 
My guess is that most of you would prefer to take on the challenge of your current situation than most of the adversities mentioned in the list found at the top of this blog.  In fact, let me say this to you: the fact that these people were able to overcome their adversities and go on to achieve their dreams and goals prove that it is also possible for you do the same!   So with that said, I encourage you to go out and write your own story of how you overcame your adversities to achieve your goals and dreams. In life anything is possible and that is why in two or three years from today your name can also be one of the names that comes up under the Google search "successful people who overcame great adversity and went on to achieve their goals and dreams".
 
Well, before I leave you, I want to take this time to leave you with the quote below and to encourage you to take a look at our upcoming events:

 
If you have a dream, give it a chance to happen.”
 
Richard de Vos
 

Sources:



 

Author:

Unleashed Possibilities (UP) Inc.


Registration Information

 

Evening Sessions:


The Power of Pursuing Your Dream  Patrick Bizindavyi $12 per session 7:00-9:30pm


Date:  Tuesday 21 January, 2014

Time: 7:00 – 9:30pm

Cost:   $12

 

Date:   Wednesday 5 February, 2014

Time:  7:00 – 9:30pm

Cost:   $12 
 

Date:   Wednesday 5 March, 2014

Time:  7:00 – 9:30pm

Cost:   $12
 

Location:     

Dora’s Studio
452 Gladstone Avenue (Behind the house)                  

Toronto, Ontario

Registration: 

Please click on the following link and scroll down to the Session called “The Power of Pursuing Your Dream”

 

 
Workshop: 

                        “A Journey of a Thousand Miles begins with a Single Step: How to Transform your   2014 New Year Resolutions/Dreams from a Goal into a Reality.” 


Date:              Saturday 22nd February, 2014

Time:                         10am – 4pm
Cost:              $35
Location:      Dora’s Studio
                        452 Gladstone Avenue (Behind the house)                  

Toronto, Ontario
Registration:           

Please click on the following link and scroll down to the workshop titled “A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step: How to Transform your 2014 New Year Resolutions/Dreams from a Goal into a Reality.” 
Registration Link:  http://www.aangen.com/workshops.asp



 

 

 

 

 

 

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